Count Your Pennies
by The Improbable Fan
Summary: Penny is visiting Sherman while Mr. Peabody is away, and she stumbles upon one of Mr. Peabody's inventions. A cloning machine.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a request fic for retro mania. So credit for the idea goes to him.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

It was a cloudy Saturday morning in New York City. People of all ages bustled about the city, going about their daily lives with not a care in the world.

The same, however, did not apply to Mr. Peabody.

Despite being quite the intellectual, the brilliant beagle had his limitations. He was on his way to the local university to present the blueprints for his latest invention.

Now, having done this before, Mr. Peabody barely twitched an eyebrow. Many of his inventions were patented and out in the market, earning the dog quite a profit.

But, despite this fact, Mr. Peabody knew that events like this took top priority.

Which meant that certain other events might occasionally - and I do mean occasionally - slip from his advanced mind.

"Mr. Peabody!"

The canine jumped at the sudden intrusion of his son's voice, causing him to almost spill his morning tea all over his blueprints.

He sighed, adjusting his glasses before turning to his son. "Sherman, use your inside voice, please. " Sherman shrugged sheepishly. "Now, what is it?"

Sherman opened his mouth, about to speak, when he spotted the blueprints spread over the dining room table.

"What's that, Mr. Peabody?"

Mr. Peabody chuckled, sliding his cup of tea to the side.

"Ever the inquisitive one, aren't you, Sherman?" He patted the cushion of the chair next to him, inviting his son to sit down.

Sherman eagerly jumped onto the seat, instantly looking over the plans.

"Are these blueprints for another invention of yours?"

His canine father nodded, spreading the sheets out for both to see.

"Indeed, Sherman. My latest invention: The Clono Booth."

Sherman blinked, "The Whato Booth?"

"The Clono Booth. It is a device used to replicate an individual without going through the harrowing and heinous alternative process. Generally speaking, it is a cloning machine."

Sherman's hazel-colored eyes brightened as a wide grin spread across his face, "A cloning machine? Awesome! Now, we can have two mes running around without disturbing the space-time continuum!"

Mr. Peabody chuckled, "You are correct on that one, my boy. I will be presenting this to the professors at the University in about an hour."

"Have you made it?"

"Yes, actually, " he began as he rolled up the blueprints, "There is a model down in my laboratory. But, it hasn't quite been perfected yet."

He jumped off from his seat and began walking towards his room.

Sherman watched his father leave but suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, wait. Mr. Peabody!" He called out, leaning over the back of the seat.

The white canine turned around at the mention of his name, "Yes, what is it, Sherman?"

The boy ran towards his father, stopping in front of him, "I was wondering if I could show Penny your diamond scepter that King Arthur gave you. We're studying the Medieval Times in school."

Mr. Peabody raised an eyebrow, "When do you want to show her?"

"Today...when she comes over?"

Mr. Peabody blinked twice, "She is? When was this agreement finalized?"

Sherman raised an eyebrow, "Thursday? When I asked if she could come over, you said yes. Didn't you remember?"

Mr. Peabody stared blankly. For the first time ever, Mr. Peabody actually forgot something.

He noticed Sherman staring at him curiously. He coughed, "Well, I may have neglected that certain part of the day."

Sherman's face immediately became downcast, his mouth hanging open. "You forgot?"

Mr. Peabody rubbed his neck with his paw, "I'm sorry, Sherman. I was caught up in preparing for today."

Sherman sighed wearily, "Does that mean I have to cancel?"

The canine genius looked off to the side, contemplating his answer. He took another look at his son and sighed.

He placed a paw on his shoulder, "Of course not. I agreed to it, did I not?"

Sherman smiled brightly, "Oh, thank you, Mr. Peabody! I - "

"However," Mr. Peabody raised a paw, interrupting Sherman. "if she comes over today, I cannot supervise you. I trust that you are old enough to look after things while I am away. Should you have any trouble, go to one of the workers downstairs, or if necessary, call me."

Sherman nodded, "I will, Mr. Peabody."

Mr. Peabody smiled, "I have no doubt that you will." His smile quickly vanished and was replaced with a stern frown.

"But, I must lay down some ground rules. Do not leave the penthouse. Do not attempt to use the stove or oven. Try, and I do mean try, to not break anything. There are many things in the house that can break with a single touch. And, lastly, do not use the WABAC. I mean it this time. I do not have time - ironic, considering we have a time machine - to go gallivanting through time to come and rescue you. Do you understand?"

Sherman saluted, "Yes, sir, Mr. Peabody."

Mr. Peabody chuckled, "At ease, Sherman."

The elevator rang, alerting the two that someone was coming.

They both approached the elevator as the doors slid open revealing Penny and her father.

Sherman's face lit up as he waved, "Hi, Penny!"

"Hi, Sherman!" The blond-haired girl ran over to him, giving him a hug.

"How are you doing, Paul?" Mr. Peabody walked over to her father, reaching out a paw to shake.

Paul bent down, shaking the beagle's hand, "Eh, been busy at work. But, it earns us money, so I can't really complain. Thanks for having Penny over. It'll give Patty and me some time to ourselves."

Mr. Peabody nodded, "Not a problem, Paul. Always a pleasure to have her over."

Mr. Peterson stood up, "Well, I better be going. Bye, honey. Pick you up in a few hours."

She waved to him, "Bye, Daddy."

With that, Paul walked back into the elevator, and it took him back down.

Mr. Peabody looked at the clock on the wall and gasped.

"Oh my! Is it that time already?" He quickly ran a side table, grabbing his keys and blueprints.

"Sherman, give her a rundown of the agenda for today. I would myself, but if I don't leave soon, I may arrive on time." He hustled to the elevator.

Penny and Sherman looked at each other.

Sherman raised a finger, "Don't you mean late?"

Mr. Peabody raised an eyebrow, "No, I mean on time. It's important for the speaker to be early. Arriving on time is considered arriving late."

The two children looked at each other again, shrugging.

"Good bye, you two. I should be back before three." With that, he entered the elevator and left the children alone.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Apologies for the late update. I've been busy and couldn't find time to write. But, now I do. Hopefully, the next chapter will be up much sooner. Enjoy**

* * *

About an hour after Mr. Peabody left, Sherman and Penny soon found themselves with nothing to do.

They had played in Sherman's room, watched some television, played three games of checkers, and may have played with Mr. Peabody's antique marble collection.

But, eventually, things began to wind down, and they were suffering from the worst possible condition for a child to be in. Boredom.

Penny lay upside down on the couch next to the grand piano. She blew a puff of air out, sending a blonde strand of her hair flying.

She turned to Sherman, "I'm bored, Sherman."

Sherman slumped on the recliner, head resting on the palm of his hand. "Yeah, I am, too."

Penny sat up, pulling her hair back. "Why can't we just take a trip in the WABAC?"

Sherman rolled his eyes, "I already told you, Penny. Mr. Peabody doesn't want us getting into any trouble."

Penny raised an eyebrow, "What trouble? You know how to work the WABAC."

Sherman raised an eyebrow back at her, "Yeah, and that went so well the last time we took a trip in the WABAC."

Penny opened her mouth to retort, but nothing came out.

She huffed, "Well, what do you suggest?"

Sherman put a finger to his chin, "Well...maybe there is something."

Penny leaned back against the leather cushion, "Well, spit it out. We're running out of options here."

Sherman rubbed the back of his neck, "Well...Mr. Peabody said we couldn't use the WABAC; but he didn't say anything about his laboratory. Of course, it could've been implied."

Penny sat straight up, ignoring his last comment. "Mr. Peabody's laboratory? As in, the place with all of his cool inventions and stuff?"

"Well, yeah - "

Penny jumped off the couch, zooming over to Sherman, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go." She grabbed Sherman's wrist, yanking him away.

* * *

The two children entered Mr. Peabody's room.

"You know, oddly enough, this room doesn't smell like dog. And, that is no dog bed. He actually sleeps in a real bed."

Sherman chuckled, "Well, despite being a dog, Mr. Peabody would rather not act like one."

Sherman walked over to the closet next to the bed and stood in front of it.

He bit his lip, uncertain if showing Penny Mr. Peabody's laboratory was a good idea.

Penny stood behind him, arms crossed impatiently, "What are you waiting for?"

He turned towards her, "Do you really have to see it? I'm not sure Mr. Peabody will like us snooping through his things."

Penny groaned, "Sherman, do you have any other ideas? I'm bored. You're bored. This is our only option. Besides, he doesn't have to know."

"Mr. Peabody will find out one way or another. I can't get away with anything."

Penny rolled her eyes, "I'm not going to touch anything. Come on, Sherman."

Sherman sighed, "Okay. But, I'm blaming you if we get in trouble."

The bespectacled redhead turned towards the closet door and opened it.

Instead of the usual closet decor, the inside of the closet turned out to be a hidden staircase, leading down several feet.

Penny peered into the darkness, "Whoa."

Sherman chuckled nervously, "Yeah, well, let's go. Watch your step."

With that being said, Sherman began the descent down to his father's lab. Penny soon followed after him, cautiously making her way down as well.

* * *

"Mr. Peabody made all of this?" Penny's eyes scanned the dimly-lit laboratory, catching glimpses of the canine genius's inventions.

Sherman smirked proudly, "Yup, that's Mr. Peabody for you. They don't call him the world's smartest dog for nothing." He walked ahead a few feet, smiling.

Penny followed closely behind. She spotted a rack of ray guns.

"What are these?" She asked as she lifted a hand to touch one.

Sherman quickly jumped in front of her, smacking her hand down. "These are Mr. Peabody's different rays. He has a grow ray, a shrink ray, an invisibility ray, and a bunch of other rays that we will not touch."

Penny huffed, turning her head, "You're no fun."

Sherman rolled his eyes, "You can look around, but don't touch anything." He wandered off to a different part of the lab.

Penny walked between two long lab tables. On top of each table were various equipment, including a full chemistry set, and several blueprints rolled and laid out.

She was tempted to touch something, but she knew Sherman would be on her in a second.

As the lab tables came to an end, Penny turned a corner and stopped.

In front of her stood a large box covered in a blue tarp. It stood at least six feet tall and five feet wide.

She raised an eyebrow, "Hey, Sherman?"

"Yeah?"

"Come here."

Sherman made his way over to where Penny was standing, "What?"

She pointed to the hidden object, "Do you know what that is?"

Sherman looked at the covered box. His eyebrows furrowed in curiosity.

"No, I don't. Huh? I don't remember seeing this the last time I was down here. It must be new."

Penny suddenly grinned, "Let's see what it is!" She grabbed the tarp, preparing to take it off.

"Penny, wait! Mr. Peabody obviously doesn't want us to look at it, otherwise it wouldn't be covered."

Penny rolled her eyes at Sherman, "Come on, Sherman. He's hiding something from you. Don't you want to know what it is?"

Sherman looked at his shoes then back up at Penny. "Well..."

"Great. Now, help me with this thing."

Penny and Sherman each grabbed a corner of the tarp.

"On three. Ready?" Penny grinned.

Sherman nodded.

"One...two...three!"

The tarp came off.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm back with more. Yeah. Sorry if it's a little short. Not sure when I'll be able to post the next chapter. So, until then, enjoy.**

"It's uh - huh, what is it?"

Sherman squinted at the machine that stood before them, still holding the tarp that covered it.

"I'm not exactly sure."

Penny chuckled, "It's looks like a photo booth."

Sherman's eyes widened as he began to recall, "Wait? Photo booth?

 _The Clono Booth. It is a device used to replicate an individual without going through the harrowing and heinous alternative process. Generally speaking, it is a cloning machine._

Sherman's eyes lit up as a smile spread across his face, "Penny! This is Mr. Peabody's newest invention. The Clono Booth."

Penny's ears perked up, "Clono Booth?"

"Mmhm. It's a cloning machine."

The blonde girl next to him raised an eyebrow, "That looks like a photo booth?"

Sherman shrugged, "I guess that's where he got Clono Booth from."

Penny looked down, trying to understand. About five seconds later, she got it.

"Oh, Clono Booth. Like photo booth. I get it. Can we try it out?"

Sherman scratched the back of his head, "I don't think that's a good idea, Penny. This is only a model. Mr. Peabody said that he hadn't fully perfected it yet. Mr. Peabody's actually showing the professors at NYU his blueprints."

Penny waved a hand, "Come on, Sherman. Your dad's the smartest being on the planet. How can he not have perfected it already?"

Sherman nodded in agreement, "Mr. Peabody may be incredibly smart, but he's not perfect. He makes mistakes. He doesn't like to admit it, but he does. It's rare when he does, and when he does make a mistake, it usually means trouble."

Penny smirked, "See? You said it yourself. Mr. Peabody rarely messes up. Can you name one invention of his that didn't work?"

Sherman wrung his hands together, "Well...no?"

Penny nodded triumphantly, "See, Sherman? You have nothing to worry about. But, if something goes wrong, you can blame me. Okay?"

Sherman bit his lip then shook his head, "Sorry, Penny. But, Mr. Peabody let me stay home alone. If I do something to damage his invention, he'll never trust me to stay home alone again. We're not going to touch it, and that's final."

Penny groaned. "Fine."

But, then an idea came to her.

She reached into one of her pockets on her dress. She pretended to panic.

"Uh oh." She began patting her pockets, looking worried.

Sherman raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"

"I think I left my phone in your room." Penny smiled sheepishly.

"I didn't see you take it out."

Penny rubbed her arm, "I took it out for a second to check my texts. I must've laid it down somewhere and forgot to pick it up."

Sherman raised a hand, "I'll go get it for you." He ran towards the staircase and up the stairs.

Penny was about to step inside the Clone Booth, but Sherman's voice stopped her.

He came back down, a stern glare in his eyes, "Promise you won't touch anything."

Penny smiled, raising one hand, "I won't, Sherman. You can trust me."

Sherman stared at her for about five seconds then ran up the stairs.

Unbeknownst to Sherman, Penny's other hand had been behind her back. Her fingers had been crossed.

Penny chuckled, "Penny, you are good. Now, let's see. How do you work?"

She stepped into the machine.

It looked exactly like the inside of a photo booth, but Penny could pick out very distinct differences.

There was a large screen in which she could see herself in.

She clasped her hands together. "All right, let's see."

She saw a button labeled CLONE. "That must be the button that makes the clones."

Next to it, she saw a keypad with numbers and letters on it.

She put a finger to her chin, "I guess this is where you put in how many clones."

She pressed the one button. "Just one for now."

She then pressed the CLONE button.

A green light appeared, and it began to scan her. It felt oddly tingly.

After the green light scanned her, it began to materialize the clone next to her.

After about a minute, the light stopped; and before Penny's eyes stood an exact replica of herself.

She squealed softly in delight, "This really works!"

But, to her disappointment, the Penny clone didn't move.

Her shoulders slouched, "Huh, guess he did have some things to perfect."

"Penny?"

She jumped at Sherman's voice. She quickly got out of the booth and leaned against one of the lab tables.

Sherman came down the stairs, no phone in his hand.

"I couldn't find it, Penny. Sorry."

Penny waved a hand, "That's okay. I found it, anyway. It was in my other pocket." She gave a sheepish smile.

Sherman rolled his eyes, "Well, that wasted about five minutes of my day. Come on, let's put the tarp back on then head back up."

"Sounds good."

After putting the tarp back on the machine, the two made their way to the staircase.

As Sherman and Penny ascended to the floor above, a dim light began emanating from the Clono Booth.

The light shone for a moment then disappeared.

If anyone was still down there, they would have heard movement inside the Clone Booth.


End file.
